I’m a big fan of artist/illustrator Ralph Steadman – he’s crazy and I love the way it shows in his work – I’ve spoken of him before, check it out here.
I discovered that Ralph had collaborated with artist Keith Newstead to create a dynamic sculpture in 1990, the outcome featured in the video below.

It was commissioned for an exhibition called Devious Devices in 1990. It features God rising above storm clouds. Below the earth is supported on 4 elephants which in turn are supported by strange creatures. It was about 10 feet high and I have no idea where it is now.

We are constantly overwhelmed with images each day, and if you wonder through the design websites that present work for our inspiration you can quickly take the design process for granted and see these works as though they simply exist – somehow appeared from somewhere – we loose touch with the process and think too much on the result. As the saying goes – it’s not the destination, it’s the journey that is important – and for many creatives it’s the journey itself that is the destination – the joy of the craft, the joy of exploring, expressing and experimenting.

So it is always a joy, and a privilege, to be given the opportunity to see what goes on behind the studio doors and to watch this journey of creatives, to see their hands on brushes and fingers in paint. Illustrator Evan Hecox is one such creative who gives us an insight of his process in this inspiring video by Arkitip, Inc.

Another quality video from Gestalten.tv on a new publication from Berlin author Sven Voelker called Go Faster, The Graphic Design of Racing Cars. This book explores the clashing of 2D with 3D – where in the 70s there was an explosion of graphics applied to racing cars to make them look fast, more aggressive and like winners – stripes, arrows, colour – 2D shapes hugging the curves of these very expressive, sculptural 3D forms – racing cars of the 70 – it was about the car, about performance and passion – just before the advertising took hold and that wonderful expression was lost.

Alexander Calder may not be a designer but his use of space, form, colour, composition and movement as a sculptor is an inspiration to designers – from his mobiles, to his wire drawings to his solid steel sculptures.

A quote from Alexander:

“Out of different masses, tight, heavy, middling–indicated by variations of size or color–directional line–vectors which represent speeds, velocities, accelerations, forces, etc. . . .–these directions making between them meaningful angles, and senses, together defining one big conclusion or many.
Spaces, volumes, suggested by the smallest means in contrast to their mass, or even including them, juxtaposed, pierced by vectors, crossed by speeds.”

Find out more on this legend here and experience a virtual tour of a gallery exhibiting his work here

This stunning film was produced by Alex Roman – it’s a fully CG animation and looks amazing, beautifully composed. “Architecture through the cinematographic lens. The visual fusion between the third and the seventh arts”. Make sure you watch it full screen. Find out more here

Christoph Niemann’s work has caught my attention for a while now so I was please to see an interview with him by gestalten.tv. His attitude towards his work and his whimsical graphic work is very inspirational. Christoph speaks of his experiences and attitude towards his work.

Are we the first to reveal this product? Sure! spot the blog that hasn’t! but I had to log it here as I have mentioned it’s coming for a while – and here it is – is it what we expected? is it going to be the start of the end of print?

Steve Jobs apparently said that there is no money in publishing and there is speculation that Apple’s drive is to dominate the multi-million dollar gaming industry – either way – it’s going to be big, for sure – now that we can buy books and magazines through iTunes – designers are going to need to adapt their publishing methods to suit devices like this – Apple has brought their magic to it and it’s bound to be a hit – at around $900 – it’s relatively affordable!

I know – there seems to be a lot of video posts going on here lately – it’s because there are so many inspiring videos around – like this one, a lovely, wormy animation from designer Christian Borstlap. A fab example of a simple visual concept that clearly helps communicate while entertaining. And I like the message – there certainly is a lot to learn – it’s never ending – that’s the joy of life!